Greetings,
Welcome to FOSS United’s May newsletter. This month, we at FOSS United are joining the Maintainer May celebrations, more on that below. This month, we are also laying the groundwork for IndiaFOSS 2026, too bad it doesn’t go with the alliteration scheme going on in the subject. What does go with the scheme are the mango showers, providing super brief respite from the historic heatwaves.
Now, highlights
Maintainers May with FOSS United.
Maintainers May is back, this time, we are inviting the keepers of digital commons across the country to come together and join us in venting about the good, the bad and the ehs about keeping the lights on. We are also packing a bunch of surprises. Stay tuned for that. And in the meantime:
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Join a Maintainers May meetup in your city! Coming to Delhi, Bengaluru (Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai as well)
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Check out the freshly minted FOSS United Maintainers Program!
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I would also like to take a moment to say that, yes, some of us did think of calling them Maytups. Yes, we’ve moved on, and no, they haven’t.
Keeping up with IndiaFOSS 2026
It is raining CfPs! If you are looking forward to engaging with the 2026 edition of IndiaFOSS, now is your time to roll up your sleeves and start applying!!
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First things first, propose a talk! You’ll blink, and the deadline will be here. Go get that worm!
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Have questions or second thoughts about applying for a talk? Join us for the Proposal Jam on May 14th @ 7 PM! Bring your questions and a beverage because hydration rules. RSVP now!
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We’ve also put together a banger of a Community Starter pack for our friends in the digital commons. Here are the best ways in which your community can engage with IndiaFOSS this year. Check it out!
Community
Events
- Virtual FOSS United Community Call | May 04
- In-person Maintainer May Meetups
- Virtual FOSS United Open Call | May 18
- In-person FOSS Meetup Chennai | May 23
- In-person FOSS Meetup Coimbatore
- In-person PuneFOSS 4.0 | June 27
- Virtual AI for Accessibility: Inclusive Tech in Action | May 21
- Virtual The Legacy & History of Open Education | May 15
To view other upcoming and past FOSS events, please visit the FOSS Events Timeline.
Grants and opportunities
- [NEW] Interledger Fellowship Program | Deadline June 15
- [NEW] ISOC Research Grants | Deadline May 22
- [NEW] GECKO/fund
- Open Source Endowment | Rolling Basis
- FOSS United Grants | Rolling Basis
- FLOSS/fund | Rolling Basis
News
- Nagarathna Memorial Grant – 2026 – Results – Thejesh GN
- The rise of infrastructure for digital censorship | Deccan Herald
- Data & Society — Last Place in the AI-First Economy
- This AI Tool Rips Off Open Source Software Without Violating Copyright
- Palantir’s ‘Manifesto’ and the Digital Sovereignty of Other Nations | TechPolicy.Press
- Open Source at IETF Team (opensource)
- Sovereign Tech Agency funding - Mastodon Blog
- Digital Lives of Young Indians | Quest Alliance
- Directing the Herd - The Drift
- The disturbing white paper Red Hat is trying to erase from the internet – OSnews
- The Business of Military AI | Brennan Center for Justice
- Data & Society — Social Snacks: AI Companions and the Hunger for Connection
- How AI Reverses the Political Logic of the Internet | TechPolicy.Press
- India’s Decentralized System of Internet Censorship | TechPolicy.Press
Projects
- Transparency Hub: open, research-ready archive of social media platform policies, transparency reports, and governance documents
- Citizen’s audit of bus shelters in Delhi
- Nodefy is a lightweight cloud platform that simplifies learning, development, and deployment
- ProxyForge: Solving the Problem of IP Throttling
- Ormah - Involuntary recall for your agents, a self-maintaining collective memory layer
- TSI DX Node: Open Source B2B Data Exchange Solution
Want to showcase your project? Post it on the forum, and we’ll include it in our next edition!
Housekeeping @FOSS United
Governing Board updates:
The GB meeting for April took place on Thursday, April 30. Check out the notes here.
Grant updates
Check out the updates from FU’s Grants program. Follow the bi-weekly thread
Monthly Tech Report
Check out FOSS United Platform’s Monthly Tech report for April 2026!
